Many marking devices, such as printers and photocopier, use dry ink, toner or other marking media that is transferred to a substrate in a known manner, and is subsequently fused to the substrate by heat and/or pressure by a fuser that includes one or more fuser elements.
Fuser elements are typically in the form of a rotating cylinder, with an outer layer comprising a thin elastomeric layer that contacts the substrate. The adhering to the surface of the fuser roll itself. The outer layer is typically formed on an inner base, which is typically a hollow cylinder or core that is fabricated from any suitable metal such as aluminum, anodized aluminum, steel, nickel, copper, or the like. Fuser rolls commonly used have outer layers of a thickness on the order of 0.002 0.07 inches (2 to 70 mils), while typical pressures exerted on the outer layer of a fuser roll are on the order of 50 to 150 psi. A heater, usually a radiant heater, is typically positioned inside the fuser roll, and heats the fuser roll to a desired temperature, typically about 190° C. A second roll, which may also be a fuser roll that is heated like the first fuser roll, or which may be unheated, is typically positioned adjacent the first fuser roll such that a nip is formed between the two rolls. The toner-coated substrate is fed into the nip as the rolls rotate, and the toner is fused to the substrate as it passes through the nip. An example of one such fuser is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,994, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.